Machine for excavating tunnels.



No. 860,301. PATENTED JULY 16, 1907. G. W. JACKSON.

MACHINE FOR EXGAVATING TUNNELS. APPLICATION FILED JAILB, 1906.

2 BHEETS-SHEET 1.

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MACHINE FOR EXCAVATING TUNNELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1e, 1907.

Application filed January 6, 1906. Serial No. 294.758.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, GnoaoE W. JAcKsou, a citizen of the United States, of Chicago, in the county of (ook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful improvements in Machines for Excavating lunneis; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

'lzhis invention relates to improvements in excavatingi'machines for constructing tunnels, mining purposes and like uses and the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

An excavating machine embodying my invention embraces, in general terms, a swinging arm carrying at its forward end a suitable cutter, a revolving cutter as herein shown, and a supporting frame upon which the arm is pivoted, said supporting frame embodying in its construction a pivot.- the axis of which is'disposed perpendicularly to.thc pivotal axis of the'swing ing arm, whereby both the vertical and horizontal augles of presentation of the cutter to the tmmel breast may be varied as is required to present the cutter to all parts of the breast of the tunnel from the central position of the supporting frame The machine is mounted on a carriage by which it is advanced towards the tunnel breast. as the work of excavation proceeds.

Asshown in the ilrawingsr-Figure l is a plan view, With parts broken away, of an excavating machine made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a View partially in side elevation and partially in section thereof. Fig. 3 is a front end view of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a detail illustrating the rear end of the swing ing cutter supporting arm, and one of the standards to which it is pivoted or hinged.

As shown in said drawings, A A designate the longi tudinal members, and A the transverse membcrsof a horizontal carriage which supports thc machine, and

13 B designate track rails upon which the wheels I) of the carriage rest and roll. (l designates a swinging arm which is pivot-ally supported at its rear end upon a supporting frame and carries at its forward emha cutting device, indicated as a whole by l) The support ing frame for the swinging arm comprises upright standards'll E, risin; "mm a hori'nontal plate E, which latter plate is supported on a horizontal platform 1 formed on the upper endof a standard F that constitutes part of a frame F which spans the side members of the carriage and is supported thereon, as shown in Fig. 3.

- The said horizontal plate 1*) and platform i constitute parts of a turn-table. lhc plate being provided witlra central, vertical, pivot stud E (Fig. 2), and the stands ard F is made hollow to receive said pivot stud. The

particular form of the cutter carrying arm herein shown embraces two web-shaped, laterally separated members c 0 connected by a transverse member 0 and provided at its front or free end with two forwardly directed, laterally separated members 0 0' between which the rotary cutter is mounted as will hereinafter appear. Said cutter carrying arm is provided at its rear end with oppositely directed t-runnions C C which are mounted in bearing blocks 0 c that fit in horizontal forwardly opening recesses or sockets c e formed in the upper ends of the standards E. The said trunnions ,or bearing blocks may be held stationary in said recesses by means of right and left hand screw-bolts e which have screw-threaded engagement with screw-threaded hollow bosses on the blocks and the bottoms'of said receases, respectively. Said screws are provid d with central enlargements 0' adapted for engagement by a suitable implement by which the bolt; may be turned to adjust the positions of the trunnion blocks.

The form of rotary cutter 1.) herein shown consists of a of the swinging cutter carrying arm. The looped or,

closed portions of the blades are sharpened to constitute the cutting edges of the blades and the side members or legs of said knives or blades are detach-ably fixed to the laterally separated plates 1) l) referred to, in any suitable llliUlllct'. The side plateslf of the cutting wheel are braced or reinforced by iiiternlediztto webs 1/ affixed to and extending between the plain? as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. One end of said shaft-1) extcnds beyond its bearing member c and to said extended shaft end is atlixed a worm-wheel ti that meshes with a worm-screw G which is rotated by "a motor 11 through the medium of the shaft Said motor convenicntly consists of an. electric motor and is shown as supported on a shelf (.F that is curriod by the rear end of the cutter carrying arm below the pivot-trunnions thereof. As herein shown, said shelf extends between and is made ii'itegral with depending portions of the lateral members of the cutter carrying arm. in; asmuch as said motor If is carried by the arm the relation of the motor to the worm-wheel It is main- '1'00 taint-d without variation in all angular positions of the arm. i

A stopping and starting clutch or power connecting and disconnecting devieeis associatcd with the shaft.

11. for controlling the rotation of the cutter while the motor is in motion. A suitable construction for this purpose may bc made as follows:'lhe shaft g is jou'r. naled at its forward end in a bearing 9 that is attached to the front end of the cutter carrying arm. The Worm-screw (i is mounted on said shalt so that the shaft may rotate freely therein and is locked to the shaft by the clutch referred to. Said clutch consists,

5 as herein shown, of a sleeve g spline l to the shaft and having an exteriorly conical faced part adapted to enter and friction-ally engage the interiorly tapered surface of a socket in the enlarged rear end g" oi the worm-screw G. The said starting clutch may be operated by an L-shaped lever G pivoted near its angle to a stud g extending laterally from the cutter-arm and loosely connected at its short end with the clutch sleeve y. The lever extends at its rear end beyond the rear end of the swinging knife-arm and is formed to provide a handle 9'' by which the lever is operated.

Said clutch may be held in place by hand through the medium of the lever l during the operation of the cutter or may be locked in position by a locking device associated with the lever, asdesired. Said clutch is readily operated to promptly disconnect-the cutter from the driving power, and, 'by reason of the frictional engagement of the clutch elements, said clutch may operate as a slip connection in case the cutter. should strike an unexpected resistance, as a stone, and

thus avoid the danger of breaking the cutter or driving connection therefor.

Next referring to the means herein shown for swinging the cutter carrying arm on its horizontal and -vertical axis, said parts are made as follows: 1 designates a gear segment that is attached by arms 2' to the base-plate E ot'the cutter-arm supporting frame, said segment extending rearwardly from said base plate. I" designates a gear pinion that is fixed to a vertical shaft I mounted in a frame 1" which rises from and is attached to the side members A A of the carriage". Said shaft is provided at its ripper end with an operating wheel 1 Through the medium of the devices described, the supporting frame, consisting of the plate E and standards E, ,which carries the swinging knife 40 arm, may be swung in a horizontal plane about the axis of the pivot stud E of the turn-table, so as to present the cutter at varying horizontal angles to the tunnel breast. The means for swinging said cutter (m'rying arm vertically consists of a worm-gear segment .lthat is fixed to the trunnion C outside of the standard E at the left-hand side of the machine, and said worm-segment engages a worm-gear J formed on or attached to a vertical shaft J that is mounted in bearings j j fixed to and extending laterally from the lefthand standard E, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The said shaft J is provided with a hand-wheel J by which the said shaft is rotated and therethrough the knife carrying arm swung in a vertical plane to vary the vertical angle 01" presentation of the cutter to the tunnel breast.

The operation of my improved excavating machine will be obvious from the foregoing but may be briefly stated as follows: The cutter carrying arm C is first adjusted, by means of the gear pinion I and segment I, to present the cutter to the tunnel breast at the proper horizontal angle. The cutter carrying arm is then swung on its trunnio-ns, through the medium of the segment and worm-gear J sons to carry the cutter, which is driven by the motor during such swinging motion, in vertical contact with the breast of the tunnel and thereby remove a layer of the earth in each verseo,3o1

tical swing of the arm, After each vertical layer of the tunnel breast has been thus removed, the cutter arm is swung horizontally to present the cutter at another horizontal angle to the tunnel breast and another l ayer thereof cut away during the subsequent vertical swing of the cutter carrying arm. This operation is repeated until a layer of the entire breast has been removed, after which the carriage is advanced to bring the cutter into position for removing another layer of the tunncl breast in the manner last described. The carriage may be advanced in any suitable manner and is checked in place to hold it from rearward movement due to the cutting contact of the cutter with the tunnel breast. The dirt removed from the breast of the tunnel falls to the bottom of the tunnel and may be removed rearwardly past the machine in any suitable manner.

I claim as my invention 1. A tunnel excavating machine comprising a swinging arm, a cutting device carried by the free end of said arm, a supporting frame on which said arm is hinged, a pivot for said frame. the axis of which is substantially at a right angle to the pivotal axis of the swinging arm, and a motor carried by the swinging arm for operating said cutting device.

A tunnel excavating machine comprising a swinging arm. a cutting device carried by the free end of said arm, a supporting frame on which said arm is hinged, a pivot for said frame. the axis of \vhichis substantially at a right angle to the pivotal axis of the swinging arm, a motor carried by the swinging arm for operating said cutting device, and means carried by said arm for oper atively disconnecting the motor from said cutting device.

3. A tunnel excavating machine comprising a carriage, a supporting frame thereon having a vertical pivot that is mounted on a part carried by the carriage, means for swinging said frame 0n its pivot comprising a segmental gear carried by the frame and a rotative gear mounted on the carriage en p'iginc, swinging arm pivoted to said frame, a cutter" mounted in the outerend of said arm, and means for swinging said arm on its pivot comprising a gear segment affixed to the arm and a rotative gear mounted on the supporting frame. 4. An excavating machine comprising a supporting frame pivoted to swing about a vertical axis, a cutter carrying arm pivoted to the supporting frame to swing about a horizontal axis, means operating to severally swing said frame and arm on their respective axes, a cutter carricd by the free end of said arm, a motor carried by the arm fer operating the cutter, and a starting and stopping clutclr mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the cut'ter from the motor.

An excavating ,machine comprising a supporting frame pivoted to swing about a vertical axis, a cutter carrying arm pivoted to the supporting frame to swing about a horizontal axis, means operating to severally swing said frame and arm on their respective axes, a rotary cutter carried by the free end of said arm, a motor carried by the arm for operating the cutter, and a stopping and starting clutch constituting part of motor and cutter, and constructed to constitute a slip connection between said parts.

6. An excavating machine comprising a supporting frame pivoted to swing about a vertical vying arm pivoted to the supporting frame to swing about a horizontal axis, means operating to severally swing said frame and arm on their respective axes, a cutter carried by the free end of said arm, a motor carried by the arm for operating the cutter, and a starting/and stopping clutch mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the cutter from the motor, comprising, in combination, with the motor shaft, :1 wornrgear capable of rotation on said shaft, a worm-wheel rotating with the cutter and meshing with the worm-gear and an exteriorly conical faced sleeve said segmental gear, a vertically the connection between the axis, a cutter car- 7. A tunnel excavating machine comprising a rotative support an overhanging, swingingarm supported solely at its pivotal end, a rotary cutter mounted in the outer or free end of the arm, said cutter rotating about an axis parallel with the swinging axis of said arm, and a motor carried by the arm for operating said cutter.

S. In an excavating machine, the combination with the swinging, cutter carrying arm thereof, of a rotary euttei' mounted thereon and turning about an axis transverse to said arm, and means for rotating said cutter, said cutter romprising a rotary frame and a plurality of U-shaped cutting blades, each attached at its ends to said frame and formed to constitute at its closed or loop portion the cutting edge of the blade.

in lestimouy, that I claim the foregoing as my invention i ntiix my signature in presence of two witnesses, this 20th day of ileremher A. I). 1905.

GEORGE W'. JACKSON.

Witnesses FRANK A. (iu'r'rnusnx, i\i. \V. (inux'rom 

